Sonia Narang recently returned from reporting on reproductive rights in the Philippines for Across Women's Lives. She visited Manila's Fabella Hospital and shows us through her photography what it's like for Filipino women to endure one of the world's most crowded maternity wards.

Updated

03/10/2015 - 7:45am

The Catholic Church urges ‘natural family planning’ and says it has 98 percent effectiveness. A medical expert says it is closer to 80 percent — and that is in societies where a woman is able to say no to a partner's demands for sex.

Updated

03/11/2015 - 8:00am

Delivering in one of the world's most crowded maternity wards may be miserable, but the birth control these women can access afterward makes it worth it to them. Maybe, they say, they won't have to come back, or at least so soon.

Half of all pregnancies in the predominantly Catholic Philippines are unintended. That may change as the country begins to roll out its new reproductive health law, but the Catholic Church — and even the pope — are still fighting the push for free contraception.

Pope Francis brought a "Mercy and Compassion" theme to the Philippines during his five-day visit. But despite the huge crowds that flocked to see the pontiff and celebrate Mass, activists say real issues of social justice were hidden from Francis by the government.

When Pope Francis holds a Catholic Mass in Manila this weekend, he's expected to draw up to six million people. But there are conflicting hopes and expectations for what he'll say to Asia's most populous Catholic country.

After the success of the Ice Bucket Challenge that swept YouTube, European young people are hoping for viral success with a campaign to bring world attention back to the conflict on Ukraine's eastern border. Meanwhile, killing is the subject of newly-published scientific research. In this case, the killers, though, are chimps. And a Chinese tennis star retires in her 30s, having brought tennis and a bit of sports freedom to her home country, in this weekend's Global Scan.

The Philippines has one of the highest birth rates in Asia. But recently, the government passed a law, over the strenuous objections of the Catholic Church, that paved the way for providing free contraception. Reporter Aurora Almendral speaks with one woman, a grandmother at 33, about how free birth control could change the lives of the country's poorest.

Updated

03/11/2015 - 8:00am

Delivering in one of the world's most crowded maternity wards may be miserable, but the birth control these women can access afterward makes it worth it to them. Maybe, they say, they won't have to come back, or at least so soon.

Updated

03/10/2015 - 7:45am

The Catholic Church urges ‘natural family planning’ and says it has 98 percent effectiveness. A medical expert says it is closer to 80 percent — and that is in societies where a woman is able to say no to a partner's demands for sex.

The United States was among the first foreign nations to move in to help the Philippines in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan's devastation. The US has long had close, though not always happy, ties with the island nation.

Half of all pregnancies in the predominantly Catholic Philippines are unintended. That may change as the country begins to roll out its new reproductive health law, but the Catholic Church — and even the pope — are still fighting the push for free contraception.

The Philippines has one of the highest birth rates in Asia. But recently, the government passed a law, over the strenuous objections of the Catholic Church, that paved the way for providing free contraception. Reporter Aurora Almendral speaks with one woman, a grandmother at 33, about how free birth control could change the lives of the country's poorest.

Sonia Narang recently returned from reporting on reproductive rights in the Philippines for Across Women's Lives. She visited Manila's Fabella Hospital and shows us through her photography what it's like for Filipino women to endure one of the world's most crowded maternity wards.

Getting relief to the survivors of Typhoon Haiyan, or Typhoon Yolanda as Filipinos call it, has been painfully slow. The World's Jason Margolis explains that much of the challenge comes from the geography and lifestyle of the Philippines, as well as the lack of everything from roads to runways.

Updated

03/11/2015 - 8:00am

Delivering in one of the world's most crowded maternity wards may be miserable, but the birth control these women can access afterward makes it worth it to them. Maybe, they say, they won't have to come back, or at least so soon.

The Philippines has one of the highest birth rates in Asia. But recently, the government passed a law, over the strenuous objections of the Catholic Church, that paved the way for providing free contraception. Reporter Aurora Almendral speaks with one woman, a grandmother at 33, about how free birth control could change the lives of the country's poorest.

Getting relief to the survivors of Typhoon Haiyan, or Typhoon Yolanda as Filipinos call it, has been painfully slow. The World's Jason Margolis explains that much of the challenge comes from the geography and lifestyle of the Philippines, as well as the lack of everything from roads to runways.

Updated

03/10/2015 - 7:45am

The Catholic Church urges ‘natural family planning’ and says it has 98 percent effectiveness. A medical expert says it is closer to 80 percent — and that is in societies where a woman is able to say no to a partner's demands for sex.

Half of all pregnancies in the predominantly Catholic Philippines are unintended. That may change as the country begins to roll out its new reproductive health law, but the Catholic Church — and even the pope — are still fighting the push for free contraception.

Sonia Narang recently returned from reporting on reproductive rights in the Philippines for Across Women's Lives. She visited Manila's Fabella Hospital and shows us through her photography what it's like for Filipino women to endure one of the world's most crowded maternity wards.

After the success of the Ice Bucket Challenge that swept YouTube, European young people are hoping for viral success with a campaign to bring world attention back to the conflict on Ukraine's eastern border. Meanwhile, killing is the subject of newly-published scientific research. In this case, the killers, though, are chimps. And a Chinese tennis star retires in her 30s, having brought tennis and a bit of sports freedom to her home country, in this weekend's Global Scan.

The United States was among the first foreign nations to move in to help the Philippines in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan's devastation. The US has long had close, though not always happy, ties with the island nation.

The Vergera family had 10 people before the storm. Now, there are three. They live on one meal a day amidst the debris, barricaded from thieves at night. But leaving is out of the question, at least for now.